Woman Who Lives Paycheck To Paycheck Asks ‘What’s The Point?’
Her reality is sadly the norm nowadays.
DimaBerlin | Shutterstock Most Americans are unable to afford basic necessities, despite working full-time jobs. The cost of living has risen exponentially, to the point where people really have to scrounge together money from their paychecks just to afford something like groceries. In a TikTok video, a woman named Morgan vented about the stresses that she's facing in her life because she's simply not making enough money to get ahead of all the bills and debt that she's in, on top of having to take care of her kids and herself.
Morgan admitted that the stress of living paycheck to paycheck has left her with few solutions. It seems like all of her problems lead back to the lack of money that she and her husband have in their bank accounts, and unfortunately, that's a problem that a plethora of other Americans can relate to.
A woman questioned 'What's the point?' after describing her paycheck-to-paycheck life.
"I'm so tired of living paycheck to paycheck," Morgan began in her video. "I just waited for the mailman to show up so I could get my paper check in the mail that I've been waiting for for weeks, so I could come to the bank and deposit it."
Morgan explained that she has overdraft fees on her account right now, and she's only going to be able to get a little bit of the money from her paycheck once it's deposited. She estimated that she'll only have $60 available, and on top of that, she hasn't been able to go grocery shopping in a month because of their lack of money.
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She said her family has been surviving on mac and cheese and ramen for dinner because that's all they have in their kitchen. She has a $300 electric bill that's overdue, her phone bill's overdue, and she also just had her husband give her his last paycheck so they could finally pay their mortgage after it was two weeks late. Morgan also pointed out that in a week and a half, they would need to make another mortgage payment for next month.
"They might as well take my paycheck and send it to all my bills," Morgan ranted. "What's the point of me even getting my paycheck? Not only that but in three weeks I have to pay for summer camp because school is almost over. That's another $700 to $800 that I have to come up with." Morgan stressed that if she doesn't pay for summer camp, she won't be able to work because she'll have to stay home and look after her kids since they won't be in school anymore. So, the option not to send them isn't even on the table.
The woman also explained that she has personal loans and medical bills that need to be paid off as well.
"All I'm doing every day is doing my best. I literally can't get ahead," she insisted. "I wake up and I work. And these people are after me for money. I'm literally trying my best, what do you want from me?"
She listed off some of the loans that she has, including a $3,000 hospital bill, and an $8,000 personal loan that was in consolidation for a bunch of loans that she previously had, and she hasn't paid them in seven months because she simply can't afford to. Morgan explained that she does have side gigs, but once in a while, she'll make $60, which is something, but not enough.
Morgan works as a painter, and showing the supplies that she had in the back of her car, she recalled that she couldn't even finish work because she didn't have enough money to buy the additional tools she needed to complete the job.
Unfortunately, Morgan's experience is more common than not in our current economy.
Nearly half of Americans are also living paycheck to paycheck.
According to a Bank of America survey, the number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck has been growing fairly steadily for the past two years. Nearly half of Americans at least somewhat agreed with the statement, "I am living paycheck to paycheck," as of the third quarter of 2024. The number decreased slightly between the second and third quarters in 2024, but in 2022, less than 40% of Americans felt this way.
In their findings, Bank of America noted that households spending at least 90% of their income on necessities could be considered living paycheck to paycheck. By this measure, around 30% of American households are living paycheck to paycheck. Twenty-six percent of households spend 95% or more of their income on necessities, the bank reported.
For people living paycheck to paycheck, they can't even afford to budget so they can live comfortably. There's no such thing as security or a cushion, and it's impacting not only their ability to support their families and themselves, but it's seriously damaging their overall well-being.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
